


A Fork In The Road

by VoidofEternalDarkness



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-06 10:55:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13409754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoidofEternalDarkness/pseuds/VoidofEternalDarkness
Summary: When Dumbledore receives a mysterious inkling into the true nature of Harry's life with the Dursleys, he sends Professor Snape to collect him instead of Hagrid and chooses not to hide things from Harry as in canon. Severus is more mature in this story as well, refusing to lump Harry into the same category as his father and remains impartial towards James out of respect to both Harry and Lily.How much can a change like this affect Harry Potter's life?Slytherin! Harry. AU, NonEvil! Malfoys. NOT SLASH!Ships to be revealed later.Don't like, don't read.





	1. Chapter 1

-1-

The soft breeze rustled throughout the trees of Number Four, Privet Drive that night. It was often considered the calm before the storm if it occurred at this time of the night. Inside the suburban home, which looked exactly as it was, a bland suburban house. Though, the gardens did look immaculate. The interior of the house was much the same as the outside too. There was not a single ounce of mess in any of the rooms. Dull cream coloured carpet encompassed the entire house, minus the kitchen and bathrooms which were adorned with the most horrible looking tiles one could ever witness. The entire house carried a sense of order with it and considering the people that owned it, it wasn’t difficult to discern why the house was in such a state. Vernon Dursley, the patriarch of the home was a beefy looking man, with short black hair and dark coffee-coloured eyes.

Next in the occupants of this home, was Petunia Dursley, a tall, thin woman with blond hair and pale eyes. Though, the most striking feature this woman possessed was a longer-than-usual neck, which one could assume that she used to look over fences to spy on the neighbours. Their son, Dudley Dursley shared most of his resembling features with his father, at the tender age of eleven he was already very rounded with weight. However, Vernon and Petunia Dursley didn’t see their son for what he was and just by the top-of-the-line clothing that he always wore it could be easily noticed how they treated their son. The final member of the household definitely did not look the part of being a member of this family. He was a bespectacled boy, around age ten, with unruly jet-black hair.

Harry Potter was ridiculously underweight, or was that just the look that was generated by the oversized clothing that he was wearing? One could never be sure. The boy had bright, almost glowing almond-shaped emerald green eyes. But Harry Potter did have an even stranger feature…hidden beneath the bangs of his fringe was a scar shaped like a lightning bolt.

“Get started on dinner, boy,” Vernon said sharply.

“Yes, Uncle Vernon.”

“And don’t burn anything or I’ll beat you.”

“Yes, Uncle Vernon.”

This was the unfortunate reality of Harry Potter’s life, he lived under the same roof of his Aunt and Uncle who had always hated him…and Harry was never able to discover what that reason might be. If he put even the slightest step into a direction that anyone in this household didn’t like, Vernon would beat him, or even Dudley for that matter which the latter’s parents both encouraged.

Harry had gotten used to the beatings over the years…and he found if he took it without too much complaint, Vernon or Dudley, depending on the aggressor at the time would eventually get bored and move onto other things. Harry had long given up trying to discover what their reason for the hatred they impressed on him for as long as he could remember. Harry had only even learned that his name was something other than ‘Freak’ or ‘Boy’ because Petunia had been forced to give it in Harry’s presence when enrolling him in the local public primary school.

“Hurry up, you ungrateful little freak! I’m getting hungry, once you’ve prepared the meal you are to go back to your room with no food for the night!”

“Yes, Uncle Vernon,” Harry responded again, making a beeline towards the kitchen now. Another thing he’d gotten over time was going days at a time without food. That was his most regular punishment when either his Uncle or Aunt felt that he’d been stepping out of line even an inch.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Meanwhile, in the headmaster’s office at Hogwarts, an elderly man was seated behind the huge desk in the centre of the room, peering down at the parchment laid on the ornate piece of furniture through his half-moon spectacles, Albus Dumbledore had just received an unsettling piece of news. It was just as he’d suspected, the ministry had not wanted to have Harry raised as a famous, attention-seeking brat, so they sought to place him in the care of his muggle relatives to circumvent any sort of trouble in that regard. If the truth got out, Cornelius would lose his job. Going against the wishes of the Lord of an Ancient and Most Noble Family was a very serious criminal offense. If one was found to have done so they would be lucky to get the dementor’s kiss rather than the punishments dealt out in the old times.

Dumbledore had not realized that their treatment of poor Harry would be so wrongly received…this certainly didn’t bode well. Originally, he had intended for the school’s gamekeeper, Hagrid to go and collect Harry and deliver his letter closer to the beginning of the school year, but now Dumbledore had realized that perhaps that wasn’t the best course of action after all. He needed to get the boy out of there as soon as he could.

“Borden?” Dumbledore said in a soft tone.

A thin _crack!_ Sounded throughout the headmaster’s office a moment later, a small creature with huge blue tennis-ball eyes came with the sound. The skin of this creature looked to be grey and it was dressed in a tidy-looking suit. A Uniform would circumvent the problems of a house-elf being presented with clothes and Dumbledore had taken pity on Borden for losing his previous master in a freak accident, but the terms of Borden and Dumbledore becoming bonded were down to the fact that Dumbledore wouldn’t have the conditions for his elf be so poor as other wizards have displayed.

“How may I be of assisting, Master?”

“I need you to go into the dungeons and fetch Severus for me, be discreet about it.”

“As master commands!” Borden gave Dumbledore a little salute, right before he vanished as quickly as he appeared.

Dumbledore knew that sending Severus would be a better idea, he knew the Muggle world better than most and it would be more acceptable than Dumbledore going himself, as much as the Hogwarts headmaster would have loved to fetch Harry and be the one to show him all his firsts in the world of magic, he knew that due to his position in the school he couldn’t be allowed to show any kind of favouritism, lest the Ministry got their hands on that information. He would write to Cornelius once Severus was on his way, because this kind of thing could not be allowed to stand. He would also have Severus contact the Muggle authorities as well to see that these Dursleys were properly punished. Albus Dumbledore was a tolerant man, but after all the things that his own father had put him through, he would _never_ accept another child being dragged through it.

It was just unfortunate that he’d been too late with Harry’s case, on the other hand…at least he had discovered the information before Harry had got too far into his teenage years, no doubt isolating himself from everyone, which Albus had done himself and it had pushed him to become very secluded even into much of his adult life.

The Hogwarts headmaster would’ve continued his train of thought had Borden not chosen that moment to return with the requested man named Severus. Severus Snape was a tall man, who possessed neck-length raven hair, a hooked nose and dark-beady eyes. His current dress was a set of formal black-robes with white sleeves wrapped around his wrists.

Severus inclined his head, “Professor, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Thank you Borden, you may continue with what you would like to do until I call for you again.”

“Thanking you, Master!”

After Borden had taken leave, Dumbledore turned back to the man who’d just been brought into his office, “Severus, thank you for coming. It has come to my attention that one of our upcoming first-year students is having a horrible case. As a sympathiser with both my own and his experiences…I thought that you might be the best option to help her.”

The tone in Dumbledore’s voice gave away exactly what the matter of the ‘horrible case’ was. Severus was angered…since he already had his suspicions about who was the victim, “Was I right?”

“Unfortunately, you were. The Ministry placed Harry Potter into the care of his Muggle relatives thinking that it would be best that he grew up away from his fame, so he didn’t turn into some spoiled brat. Unfortunately, The Ministry of Magic did not take into consideration the long-term damage they might do to Harry if they sent him there.”

“I’ll storm the mini…”

“That won’t solve anything, Severus. It wouldn’t be wise to be sent to Azkaban over something like this, I need my Potions master for the school year. Although I am not saying that Cornelius will be getting away with it either.”

“What do you need my assistance for then, headmaster?”

“I would like you to go and personally deliver Harry’s letter to him and take him around Diagon Alley. After that we can decide on who he can stay with until the school term begins.”

Severus was silent as Dumbledore relayed his task to him, he had always known that Petunia had been jealous of Harry’s mother right from the beginning but to do something like this? To destroy Lily Potter’s son just out of spite? There was no real word for how infuriated Severus Snape was right now.

“I’ll do it Professor.”

“Good. Oh, and Severus?”

“Yes, headmaster?”

“It would be unwise of you to start problems with Petunia. Let the Muggle authorities deal with her and her husband, along with that unfortunate child of theirs. As I said, I need my Potions Master here at the school when term begins.”

Severus inclined his head once more, “As hard as it is for me to follow those orders, Headmaster. You have my word that I will not directly attack them unless physically provoked. Find somewhere for him to stay? You’re really getting him away from there forever? How did you even get your hands on evidence that the boy has been abused?”

“I can’t divulge more at current Severus, I’m sorry. Dealing with the Ministry even if the one sitting on the Minister’s chair is a dim-witted buffoon is still difficult and takes time. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. Perhaps we could even have Harry stay at the castle until the beginning of term? It’s not ideal but it gives us longer to find a more permanent solution.”

“Don’t bother,” Severus interrupted him, “Once you clear the Ministry issues, Potter can stay with me. Permanently.”

“The son of your rival?”

“I’m not so blind as to think that he will be a copy of his father, though he may well look a considerable deal like him if the reports are correct, I’m not going to judge the boy’s personality until I actually meet him. Considering that Potter and Harry have grown up in completely different environments. It would surprise me if they have more than one or two traits in common.”

“You have grown into a wise man, my friend.”

“I had a good teacher,” Severus said, a ghost of a smile forming on his pale features.

“I must draw up this letter to Cornelius. You’d better get some rest then head out in the morning and one last thing Severus, make sure that you take Harry to Gringotts and make him aware of the inheritance that has no doubt been hidden from him.”

Severus nodded, then turned on heel “Thank you…for this second chance to do right by Lily…”

“Don’t thank me. Just make her proud.”

“I will.”

Once Severus had left the office once more, Dumbledore turned back to the empty parchment before him and suddenly, it struck him what he should write. The Headmaster took a quill from its holder, then promptly dipped it to the page, beginning to write:

_Cornelius Fudge_

_It has come to my attention that due to your Ministry’s actions, you have not only opened up an innocent child to an undoubtedly high level of abuse, and in doing so disregarded the will of Lord James Hadran Potter (d. 1981) and Lady Lily Rose Potter nee Evans (d. 1981). As you in your position of Minister for Magic should know the combination of those two disastrous events, the punishment will be severe._

_No. I will not accept bribery, this is just your warning. I will be pressing charges in the coming days when I have collected more evidence and get the Muggle courts involved as well. This shouldn’t have been allowed to happen and it would not have, had you listened to me._

_I will also not be telling you of Mr. Potter’s whereabouts following this letter, apart from the fact that he will be attending Hogwarts._

_Signed_

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

Next, Dumbledore would write another letter, this would be addressed to the Muggle Prime Minister, sure it probably wasn’t the best idea to take this matter with Muggles but as the perpetrators were Muggles, Albus had no choice. 

_Dear Prime Minister_

_We had met some time ago, to discuss certain events that pertained to our circumstances in co-existing in the same environment. Unfortunately, due to evidence that I have obtained from an anonymous source, I have discovered that one of my future students is suffering child abuse at the hands of a family in your world. The boy in question was not meant to be placed with the family in the first place and while I am working on rectifying the situation in terms of the boy who will be collected by a member of the faculty in the next couple of days. I would appreciate it if you could look into having the abusers dealt to within your system of justice since they are not part of my world I cannot directly intervene as I would greatly wish to._

_Albus Dumbledore._

One more down, one more to go. Dumbledore had decided in writing that letter, there was another that needed to join this set. He would need someone to know the situation, but at the same time he would need to display the evidence to this person so that Cornelius could get the punishment that was owed onto him.

_Dear Amelia Bones._

_Ms. Bones, it has come to my attention that a matter of serious urgency has come about. I would like to present evidence against the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge in regards to disregarding the final will and testament of Lord James Hadran Potter (d. 1981) and Lady Lily Rose Potter nee Evans (d.1981). I would also like to present evidence against Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge for enabling child abuse through the disregarding of aforementioned will in regards to one Harry James Potter._

_I would prefer to disclose this evidence face-to-face in order to circumvent tampering or any other unforeseen ways that the Minister will utilize to escape the severe punishment associated with the accusations if found guilty. Please meet me in my office at your earliest convenience._

_Albus Wulfric Percival Brian Dumbledore_

Once the final letter had been furled into a scroll and bound with a charm so that only the intended recipient could open it. Dumbledore tied the scroll to Cornelius to Fawke’s leg and spoke softly, “take that to the Minister old friend.”

A nod from the Phoenix and Fawkes disappeared in a bright whirl of flame.

“Borden!” Dumbledore called for the second time that night.

Once again, as expected, the house-elf appeared as soon as he was called to.

“Master?”

“I need you to deliver this to Amelia Bones, the head of the department of Magical Law Enforcement.”

“Of course. Anything else you need sir?”

“Yes, could you also take the liberty of depositing this into a post box on the way? It is intended for the Muggle Prime Minister.”

The final letter had been neatly folded and placed inside an ordinary envelope addressed just as an ordinary muggle would address it, minus a small sign that only the Prime Minister would recognize. To any one else it would just appear as an envelope that had ‘Matter of Urgency’ across the top.

Again, Borden went on his way and Dumbledore leaned back in his seat. Hopefully he could undo the damage that the Dursleys had done to young Harry…and maybe, just maybe he’d given Severus the best chance to perhaps lighten up a little bit more openly. Dumbledore wished nothing but the best for his future pupil and his former one.

x-x-x-x-x

Severus Snape arrived in Privet Drive early that morning, he saw no sense in wasting half the day and opening Harry up to suffer for a full day before finally being pulled away from them as Hagrid would’ve no doubt done. Severus had no love lost for the Hogwarts Gamekeeper, of course Hagrid’s heart was in the right place, however, with Muggles, especially ones that disliked magic a more discreet approach was often the best one. Severus had forgone his robes for an official-looking business suit. It was uncomfortable as all hell, but considering it kind of looked like his usual attire in the wizarding world, the man wasn’t about to complain about it…aloud at least.

Severus approached the doorstep of Number Four. The exterior of the house was well-kept and bland. Just as he’d imagined it really, from the short tenure he’d known Petunia for, this made complete sense, especially if she’d married someone who hates wizards and magic as much as she did. Which, of course, she had. Throwing his thoughts aside, Severus calmly approached the door and knocked on it softly.

For a few moments there was nothing, then the door swung open. Immediately the long-necked woman’s jaw dropped and she stammered, “W-what the hell are you doing here!?”

Severus wanted to lash out there and then, but unfortunately he had to keep his composure, he’d given the headmaster his word after all, “Relax, Muggle,” Severus said coldly, “As much as I would like to punish you beyond words right now, I have a job to do. I am here to see Harry Potter.”

“He’s not here.”

“You were always a terrible liar Petunia. Don’t make me ask again or things might just get…unpleasant.”

Begrudgingly, Petunia stepped to the side of the room and for a moment Severus was filled with rage. No doubt the only reason she didn’t want Severus to know that Harry was here came down to the fact that once Harry was gone she would have to do her own housework once more.

“Where is his room?” Severus said coldly.

Petunia just pointed to the cupboard beneath the stairs, not wanting to say more than she had to in regards to this man.

“You have him sleep in a supply cupboard!?” Severus almost growled, still resisting the urge to hex her, knowing that if he did, it could jeopardize the case that the headmaster was building against both Dursleys and the Minister. Choosing to not say another word to Lily’s sister, Severus crossed the hall over to the Cupboard and knocked softly on the door.

“Harry?” Severus’ tense, uncertain voice carried through the gaps of the little golden piece at the top of the door.

“Y..Yes?” the boy within the cupboard asked timidly. He was really getting too big for the cupboard, but The Dursleys’ had made no effort to move him out of it, giving Dudley both of the two bedrooms upstairs without a second thought towards Harry. He slowly rose out of the bed, purely because the voice sounded as uncertain as he felt.

“H..how do you know my name?”

“I knew your parents.” He said in a soft voice, knowing that any kind of loud volume could be interpreted as a threat, “Do you know about them?”

“I was told they passed away in a car crash.”

Severus then rapidly spun on Petunia, “A car crash!? Of all the fucking ridiculous stories you could come up with, you chose a car crash!?”

“T..they lied to me?”

“I’m sorry Harry,” Severus said through the door, “But yes they did. Your parents James and Lily Potter were killed in cold blood by another from our world named Lord Voldemort.”

The feeling of being lied to for his entire life, as well as discovering the true nature of his parents’ deaths was too much for Harry and he dropped to his knees, almost curling into a ball, soft, almost silent tears then began streaming down his face.

Severus had always possessed acute hearing thanks to the abuse that, he too, had suffered at the hands of his Muggle father, the moment he heard Harry’s sobs, Severus yanked the door open. The sight before him made the Potions master sick to his stomach. Harry was so malnourished that he looked like someone half his age, at least in terms of height and weight. Severus dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around Harry without a second thought, “It’s alright,” he murmured, “I’m never going to let them hurt you again.”

Severus suppressed another growl at the flinch he’d gotten in response to the physical contact, thus confirming Dumbledore’s statements from the previous night to a greater extent.

“P..promise?” Harry managed to get out through tears.

“I promise Harry…and one more thing, you’re a wizard. That’s why they don’t like you. Your and father was a wizard too while your mother was a witch.”

“A... are you a…wizard?”

“I am Harry, come on, collect your belongings, we must be going. You’re never coming back here ever again.”

“You mean it?” Harry looked up, his cheeks were red and his eyes puffy from the crying, but the look on the young boy’s face was nothing but pure hope at the thought of finally getting away from all the different kinds of pain that had been inflicted to him over the years.

In that moment, Severus’ heart broke for the boy even more, “Yes, Harry I mean it.”

“Okay, but I don’t have anything else minus the clothes on my back, so we can go now?”

How Severus managed to compose himself after that final drop of information surprised even him, he supposed as he led Harry out of the house, the thought that when the evidence was finally surmounted they were going to suffer far worse than anything he could ever do to them.

Severus looked down at him, “Aren’t you going to ask where we’re going?”

Harry shook his head, “Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia told me to never question anyone. That I was just a freakish waste of space and that no-one cares about anything I have to say.”

Severus actually growled that time, and spent the next ten minutes trying to calm Harry down from hearing that particular sound alone, “Harry I want you to listen to me very carefully, those Muggles know nothing, disregard anything they have told you. It is them who are wastes of space.”

“What are muggles?” Harry maintained Severus’ quiet tone, somehow subconsciously knowing that this kind of word wasn’t supposed to be said too loudly in such an open area.

“Non-magic folk like them, though some Muggles are better than others. They generally dislike Wizard-kind because of how much more easily we can do things, or something along those lines anyway.”

“Mr. Severus?”

Severus failed in his attempt not to smile at the nickname that Harry had already seemed to have given him, “Yes Harry?”

“Where _are_ we going?”

“Well, first we are going to take a trip into London to collect your school things for Hogwarts. The very same school that your parents attended. I work there as The Potions teacher so once we get to school I expect to be called Professor Snape, understood?”

“Yes, Professor Snape.”

Severus laughed openly, patting Harry on the shoulder, “But Mr. Severus is fine for now.”

This seemed to ignite Harry’s face into a full-fledged grin.

“Come along now, we have much to do.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

Well, there you have Chapter One of this story. It’s going to be vastly different from most Slytherin Harry stories out there because I felt that it should be this way for a refreshing change from most of the stories out there regarding this subject.


	2. Chapter 2

 

-2-

If you had told Harry Potter more than a couple of nights ago that there was a magical world and that he was a part of it, he might’ve just looked at you as though you were insane. Yet, here he was walking with the Hogwarts Potions Master, Severus Snape down the cobbled street that was Diagon Alley, the small section of Wizarding Shops in downtown London in which Wizards could purchase various items of a magical variety. It also provided the perfect place for students all around Britain to collect their school things before September first. During their trip to the Alley, Severus had inconspicuously slipped Harry his Hogwarts letter and he’d been able to finally discover more evidence to the man’s claims that he’d given to him earlier that morning.

“Excuse me, Mr. Severus?”

“Yes, what is it Harry?”

“How am I to pay for all this? I haven’t got any kind of money.”

Severus once again forced down an angry growl, he seemed to be doing that a lot this morning, the Professor noted, “It’s not a problem, Harry. I assure you, unfortunately the matter of being discreet is of utmost importance now and I will be unable to discuss it with you until we are in a more secure location, even then it is better to come from Gringotts, the wizarding bank,” He added the explanation as an afterthought, already imagining the confused look on the boy’s face, “They have all the official dealings with any magical money.”

Harry was about to respond, but the voice of another cut him off. He couldn’t pinpoint the source, but it sounded like someone who’d been raised in a rather upscale environment. The kind of thing that the Dursley’s forced down his throat from a young age in ‘how to address your betters.’ Lessons that Vernon often made him succumb to. Although, as soon as Harry did pinpoint the source, he knew that this man was more like the regal types than the Dursleys had _tried_ to emulate through every aspect of their lifestyle.

“Ah, Lucius. I was wondering if I might see you today,” Severus said, inclining his head to the new arrival. The arrival himself was a rather tall man, with long shoulder length platinum blond hair and striking crystalline blue eyes. The man was dressed in formal-looking black robes, his cloak being fastened by a strange looking clip in pure silver. He smirked softly as he regarded Severus, then turned the same expression towards Harry. It was not unkind, but it did seem a little off in Harry’s humble opinion.

“I’m surprised to see you here at all, my friend,” Lucius stated, “I’d assumed you’d be rather busy with preparations for the upcoming School year.”

“I was at first, but I’ve finished as it doesn’t change much from year to year in all honesty. Professor Dumbledore asked me to come and take Harry here around Diagon Alley to collect his belongings for the school year.”

At the mention of the boy’s name, Lucius turned his attention on the young boy standing timidly beside Severus, his smirk softening into a smile, he extended a hand to the boy, “Lucius Malfoy.”

Harry, despite the initial uncertainties about this man, felt that if Severus could trust him then so could he, Harry reached over and shook the man’s hand, “Harry Potter. It’s nice to meet you sir.”

Lucius looked as if he was about to say something, but quickly decided against it once he saw the sharp glare coming from the face of his old friend, “You have some respectable manners, you should pride yourself on that Harry. That type of thing is highly appreciated in our world.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Lucius then chuckled, much to the surprise of Severus, but the man continued nonetheless, “But I would like you to feel comfortable enough to use my first name, since I have no doubt that you and my son will get along well. So, Lucius will be fine.”

“Okay M-Lucius.”

“Excellent, we were just on our way to Gringotts if you wanted to accompany us?” Lucius asked his old friend, “Narcissa and Draco should have arrived through the Network by now.”

Severus decided that it would be a good idea for Harry to have someone around his own age be present for this so he didn’t feel so intimidated by the whole ordeal like most muggle-raised were when they first came to Hogwarts, “That sounds like an excellent idea. I also have something to discuss with you later regarding why I was chosen to do this for Dumbledore rather than Hagrid as originally intended.”

“Of course,” Lucius responded almost instantly, “Is there a particular reason you wish to divulge the information to me?”

“You’re my oldest friend…and I need someone in the Wizenagamot other than the Headmaster for what’s to come in the ensuing weeks. It was not pleasant to say the least, old friend.”

“Very well. Shall we continue?”

After a nod of affirmation from both Harry and Severus, the duo now expanded into a trio headed off through the alley and just as they were about to reach the large white building at the head of the alley, a woman who, Harry decided, looked much more regal and beautiful than his Aunt Petunia could on her best day led a boy, roughly the same height as Harry out of the brick barriers behind the Leaky Cauldron as Severus and he had done when they first arrived in the Alley. Harry was surprised that Severus had taken him around to look at all the different shops before starting the official business, he seemed like a straight-to-the-point sort, but he was glad that he’d been given the opportunity.

The woman, in contrast to the boy with her had long tresses coloured in deepest midnight while her hair seemed to be streaked with blond in it as well, her outfit comprised of formal robes as well, but they seemed to be made by some shiny emerald material. The boy beside her had the same grey-blue eyes as his mother and was dressed in formal black robes.  

“Ah, here they are.”

“Severus, what a surprise,” Harry heard the woman say, she seemed as polite and well-mannered as her husband had been, “It’s good to see you.”

“And you as well, Cissa, Draco.”

“Hello Uncle,” Draco said, then jerked his head to the bespectacled boy beside his godfather, “Who’s this?”

Harry stepped forward a little timidly, unsure he would be well-received by the boy and his mother as he had been with Lucius, “I’m Harry, Harry Potter is a pleasure to meet you both.”

“Draco Malfoy, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well,” Draco and Harry shook hands without hesitation.

“So well-mannered and polite,” Narcissa said excitedly, taking her turn at shaking Harry’s hand as her son had done.

“Come,” Severus and Lucius said in unison.

“Are you _the_ Harry Potter?” Draco asked quietly, the two boys walking slightly ahead of the adults.

Severus had told Harry of his name and what his status meant inside the wizarding world, “Yeah, I am. Think my fame’s rubbish though, well-known for something I don’t even remember.”

“And you were raised by Muggles?”

“Right again,” Harry said, unable to help the nervous chuckle that escaped his lips.

“Horrible things Muggles are,” Draco told Harry in the next breath.

“Surely they can’t all be bad,” Harry said, unsure of the comments that the  boy was making.

“Well, Muggles believe themselves to be above us…that Wizardkind is some sort of abomination. They’ve inflicted a great deal of pain onto the Wizarding Society. Most of the half-bloods tend to hate their Muggle heritage as well. Witch burnings and the like. I bet the people you stayed with were a classic representation for you of what Muggles tend to be towards our world.”

The more Draco said, the more Harry realized he had a point, every Muggle he’d met up until this point had been self-important and did things only for the betterment of themselves, the few times Harry had been taking out by The Dursleys when Mrs. Figg was unable to babysit, he’d been introduced to even more of those sorts of people.

“I can totally understand where you’re coming from,” Harry hissed in return.

“They seem to be getting along well,” Lucius commented to his wife and Severus.

“I’m honestly surprised,” Severus said, “Harry didn’t exactly take too well to me when I arrived to collect him, but I will of course divulge more of that to the both of you when we are not in Harry’s company, I do not wish for him to have to relive the experiences until he absolutely has to.”

Lucius and Narcissa gave their old friend a nod, following the two boys into the bank. The two men shared an unreadable expression before Lucius placed a hand on Draco’s shoulder and Severus on Harry’s shoulder.

“Who are they?” Harry hissed up at Severus as they walked through the building. The polished marble floors gleamed against the morning sun flittering down through the bank’s windows, several desks made of dark wood lined the bank, several small creatures with beady eyes, hooked noses and pointed ears were moving about rapidly, conducting their business.

“Goblins,” Severus explained quietly, “Treat them with respect and they will do the same for you.”

The little quartet approached the main teller’s desk at the rear of the bank’s reception area and Severus smiled a bit, “I’m glad it’s you we ran into, Griphook.”

“Ah, Severus Snape. Come to withdraw some funds my friend?”

“Not today, Griphook. I’m actually on Hogwarts business.”

Griphook leaned down over the desk, looking at the two boys before him. Harry was slightly intimidated by the Goblin, but he didn’t let it show.

“Ah, first years,” Griphook turned to Lucius and inclined his head, “It’s good to see you as well.”

“May your gold ever flow and your blade gleam with the blood of your enemies,” Lucius said, trying to hide his smirk.

Griphook smirked in return, then turned to the group at large, “A trip down to the vaults then?”

“Not quite yet, Griphook. I’d like to have a Legacy test done for young Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter,” Severus said, remembering Dumbledore’s instructions to the letter. He didn’t know what the headmaster was playing at since he’d not originally planned to tell the boy until he was older, perhaps Dumbledore was breaking free of his senile ways that he’d developed since the fall of Voldemort all those years ago now.

“Legacy tests? For eleven-year olds?” Lucius asked, but his tone was not one of anger, he didn’t mind Severus making the call to do so for his new charge and godson, but the two boys were rather young and hadn’t even started Hogwarts.

“It’s of vital importance,” Severus said off-handedly.

“And would you like to be separated for these legacy tests?” Griphook continued.

“No,” Harry and Draco answered as a unit before either Draco’s parents or Severus could answer.

Narcissa chuckled, “inseparable, I’m telling you now.”

“Very well, after the tests we will have someone take you down to the vaults, follow me.”

Griphook clambered down out of his chair, then he hopped down off the little podium. Harry, Draco, Severus, Lucius and Narcissa followed Griphook through the reception of the bank, down a narrow hallway and right down it until they reached a room at the end of the tunnel. It was a bland door, looking almost completely black minus a small golden plaque that displayed the word ‘ _Legacies’_.

The goblin reached out and twisted the door knob, pushing the door open a second later and then promptly ushering the group inside. He entered the room himself, then shut and locked the door behind him. Harry felt extremely nervous, he had no idea what this was going to entail, what in the world was a ‘Legacy’ anyways? Sure, he knew what a test was, he’d been forced to underperform to avoid the reactions of his Aunt and Uncle for doing better than Dudley had. He felt like he was going to vomit from the nerves, until he felt a hand on his shoulder, it wasn’t Severus this time though, “It’s not as bad as you think,” Draco whispered to him, “I’ll go first if it makes you feel any better though.”

Unable to speak, Harry just nodded mutely. Draco nodded, then approached the plinth. Griphook placed a blank piece of parchment on said plinth, then extracted a ruby and emerald encrusted dagger from the inside of his jacket.

“Three droplets of blood onto the parchment please, young Mr. Malfoy.”

Draco raised the tip of the blade and made a small incision into his finger, as soon as three droplets of blood had fallen free from his hand, the wound re-sealed itself and words began to weave themselves into existence on the parchment:

_Draco Abraxas Malfoy-Lefay_

  
_Born to:_

_Narcissa Malfoy nee Black and Lucius Malfoy_

_Birthdate: 5 th June 1980 _

_Godfather: Severus Snape_

_Godmother: Ailwyn Leandre (d. 1984)_

_Titles:_

_Heir of The Most Ancient and Noble House Malfoy._

_Lord of The Most Ancient and Legendary House Le-Fay_

_Contracts:_

_House Potter – Allied Powers Contract_

_House Emrys – Allied Powers Contract_

_House Snape – Allied Powers Contract_

_House Longbottom – Allied Powers Contract_

_House Lestrange – Allied Powers Contract_

_House Black – Allied Powers Contract_

_House Weasley – Blood Feud Empowerment Contract_

_Special Abilities:_

_Animagus – High Potential_

_Element – High Potential_

_Illusionist – High Potential_

_Shadow Walker – High Potential_

_Runic Mastery – High Potential_

_Spirit Mastery – Moderate Potential_

Draco looked down at the piece of parchment once the process was complete, then he turned to Griphook and asked in a polite tone, “Mr. Griphook? I was wondering why I am named Lord Le-Fay? I mean both my father and my mother are alive.”

“Ah, you see Lord Le-Fay, this title was actually passed to you by your godmother who was the final descendant of the Le-Fay line, as her next-of-kin the title is automatically passed to you as she has no biological living relatives.”

Draco nodded his thanks, then as he was about to leave the plinth, Griphook shook his head, “Not yet. As the previous Lady Le-Fay has passed away, it is possible for me to hand the lordship to you today. If you would consent to that of course.”

Draco looked back at his parents, who both gave him a nod to say that it was ultimately his decision if he wanted to take the title now, or leave it until he was older.

“I would like to accept my title of Lordship today.”

“I thought you might,” Griphook reached into the drawer behind a desk on the side of the room and then returned to the plinth where he presented Draco with an ornate looking ring. It was platinum in colour and held the depiction of a dragon atop it, which held a bright amethyst locked into its maw with the letters ‘L-F’ inscribed in a dark black atop the gemstone.

“The Lordship ring of the Le-Fay family.”

Draco took the ring and slipped it onto his third finger across, the moment he did so bright light shone through the metallic dragon’s eyes and the ring tightened slightly to adjust to the size of Draco’s fingers.

“Congratulations, Young Lord. You have been accepted as the rightful owner of this ring.”

Draco inclined his head, “Thank you, Mr. Griphook.”

“Griphook’s fine, Young Lord.”

“Then Draco’s fine,” The young lord in question countered.

Griphook chuckled, then turned to Lucius, “He’s just like you were.”

Lucius spared a chuckle, then before he knew it, it was Harry’s turn. With all eyes on him, Harry approached the plinth, took the now clean dagger and flicked the blade, pricking his finger without wincing. Three droplets fell from the wound, then it re-sealed itself instantly.

_Hadrian James Ignotus Potter_

_Born To: James Potter (d. 1981) and Lily Potter nee Evans (d. 1981)_

_Birthdate: 31 st July 1980 _

_Titles:_

_Lord of The Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter_

_Lord of The Most Ancient and Legendary House of Emrys_

_Lord of The Most Ancient and Legendary House of Pendragon_

_Contracts:_

_Marriage Contract – Potter_

_Marriage Contract – Emrys_

_Marriage Contract – Pendragon_

_Due to implicit statement in Lord James Potter and Lady Lily Potter’s will, Lord Potter will not receive more information on these contracts until he begins the summer before his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_House Malfoy – Allied Powers Contract_

_House Le-Fay – Allied Powers Contract_

_House Longbottom – Allied Powers Contract_

_House Black – Allied Powers Contract_

_House Bones – Allied Powers Contract_

_House Weasley – Blood Feud Empowerment Contract._

_Special Abilities:_

_Animagus – High Potential_

_Parseltongue – Natural Gift_

_Element – High Potential_

_Shadow Walker – High Potential_

_Runic Mastery – Moderate Potential_

_Spirit Mastery – High Potential_

“Marriage Contracts!?” Harry exclaimed in disbelief.

“You’ll find that’s not all too uncommon in the magical world, especially in the older magical families. Unfortunately, that’s as much as I can tell you as per the instructions of your parents will. You’ll also be given the will when you turn thirteen as well, one thing you may do today however is take your lordship, Hadrian James Ignotus Potter-Emrys-Pendragon.”

“Harry will do fine,” he stated quickly “And I’d like to take my lordship of Potter for now, I’ll leave Emrys and Pendragon until I’m a bit older.”

“A wise choice.”

Griphook then went to the desk again and fetched the ring, a golden band with a lion’s head atop it, it’s eyes were filled with Dazzling ruby gems and it’s maw held a crimson shield engraved with the letter ‘P’. Harry slipped on the ring and a power rippled throughout the room, confirming him to be the new Lord Potter.

“Very well, we will now go to you family vaults, Harry and Draco.”

\------------------------------

End Chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

-3-

“Come along,” Griphook stated, turning on heel to guide the quartet out of the room once again. Draco and Harry quickly hurried after the Goblin, excited to finally be done with the legacy tests. Narcissa tried to suppress a giggle, Severus and Lucius on the other hand simply shook their heads at the youngsters’ antics.

“You’d think that this was the most exciting part of the trip,” Lucius told his old friend.

 

“I’m sure it’s not for Draco, but for Harry this is the first real in-depth experience of our world he’s had for his entire life, so I completely understand why he’s reacting this way.”

 

“Come on, hurry up!” Draco shouted back at the adults, “We’ve not got all day!”

 

“And there is us being told how to operate,” Narcissa said, moving forward.

 

Harry and the others finally arrived at the docks where the small carts would be to take them down through the levels of Gringotts and down to their vaults. The cart, despite being completely held up by nothing but the railing, Harry knew that it would be sturdy. He couldn’t explain why, but he could somehow feel energy radiating off it, as if the very area was engulfed by magic.

Griphook climbed into the front of the cart, then turned his head back to the people on the ground,

 

“In,” he commanded.

 

Not wanting to test the Goblin’s patience even an inch, Harry quickly climbed into the cart with Draco in hot pursuit. Narcissa was next, then finally, Severus and Lucius would enter the cart. The four got into the most comfortable positions they could in such a cramped space, but seeing as it wouldn’t be too long before they got out again, or at least that’s what Harry found himself hoping, they were going to have to just deal with it for the time being. Seeing that all of his passengers were now completely inside the cart, Griphook spun round towards the front-facing direction and tapped the top of the lamp at the head of the cart three times in quick succession. A loud screeching came from the wheels of the cart…BOOM! They were off, the cart shooting down the rails, heading around the bend before dropping at an almost vertical angle.

 

Lucius, Severus and Narcissa who were used to this kind of travel by now didn’t even bat an eyelid. Draco and Harry on the other hand were whooping with joy, screaming out the excitement they felt for the adrenaline rush before them. This surprised Severus, he was expecting that he would spend a great deal of this ride consoling Harry and trying to assure him that everything was going to be alright. The Potions Master decided that even though he was his own person, he did display some of the traits his father had, but that did not matter to him. Severus didn’t see the point in continuing a feud with a man that had been dead for ten years. Even he could be more mature than that. Seeing that Harry was enjoying himself was enough for Severus.

 

Suddenly the cart hurled to a complete stop. Lucius and Narcissa weren’t surprised since they had to visit the Malfoy family vault first. The Malfoy family had decided during the times of old that their vault should be close to the surface so that they didn’t have to travel as far, mostly due to the fact that the earliest members had been busy people who enjoyed convenience.

 

“Vault three hundred twelve. Malfoy Family Vault.”

 

“I’ll be back,” Lucius told them all.

 

Lord Malfoy and Griphook both exited the cart and approached the door of the vault, it was huge, circular and had the depiction of a silver dragon on the centre of it. Lucius stepped over to a small plinth beside the door. It was an ordinary looking stone structure with what looked like the imprint of a hand atop it. Lucius confidently dropped his hand against the plinth, nothing happened for a moment or two…then the plinth shone a dazzling emerald, causing for the metallic door to swing open. Lucius bowed his head respectfully to Griphook, nodded to Narcissa, then entered his family vault.

 

“So, what house do you think you’ll be in?” Draco asked Harry as a way to pass the time while they waited for Lucius.

“Well, I don’t really know what they are…”

“Oh, that’s right I forgot. Sorry, Harry. The first one is Gryffindor, most people want to go to that house, it’s supposed to be traited for bravery, but most of them are condescending and look down on the other houses, especially Slytherin. Slytherin itself is prided for cunning and ambition, but the other four houses have mistaken it to mean that everyone in Slytherin ends up as a dark wizard. It’s associated with evil.”

 

“Wait…people base alignment on a house?” Harry asked, that somewhat confused him.

 

“It’s a bit ridiculous if I’m honest.” Narcissa interjected, “It’s been around since before my own school days.”

 

“Next up is Ravenclaw, which is where all the ones who are intellectual prodigies or whatever end up. Ravenclaw’s aren’t that bad, but they tend to be followers in whatever the Gryffindors say which means that they’re also bias towards Slytherins because of the evil thing. Hufflepuffs aren’t bad, they generally stick to themselves but if Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are around they join in to feel like they’re apart of it all.”

 

“That’s awful,” Harry consented, “What do you think you’ll be sorted into?”

 

“Slytherin,” Draco said without an ounce of hesitation, “My family has been for generations. I did ask you first, what do you think now that you know a bit more?”

 

“I still don’t really know, but if Gryffindor really is as bad as that, I don’t think I want to be sorted into it.”

 

Lucius stepped out of the vault, returning to the platform of the bank. The very second he had his body out of the path of the door, it swung shut behind him.

“Business is done,” he alerted the others in the cart, he and Griphook climbing back in.

“Next destination Vaults One through Seven,” Griphook announced, restarting the cart on the rails down to the deeper vaults. The journey took roughly around ten minutes, Harry was secretly surprised that it hadn’t been quicker at the speed the cart was traveling. Most of the underground that the Goblins had formed was filled with rocky outcrops of underground landscapes. Harry was sure that most of the potential thieves were merely locked in the vaults and the Goblins just waited for them to die before opening the vault again and discarding the bodies.

 

Finally the cart came to a halt right on the bottom floor of Gringotts, Griphook climbed out first and led the small group across the marble floor, which Harry looked around to see what could possibly be so dangerous about the vaults on the lower levels, he’d only just remembered the sign they’d seen while on the entrance floor of the bank before the legacy tests had been done. When he saw what the guard was, Harry’s jaw fell open. A huge reptilian creature with large yellow eyes glared down at them. The beast’s razor-sharp teeth were gleaming against the low light and its outstretched wings were rapidly beating against the ground in indignation. Griphook took a strange looking wooden object from the side of a pillar and began shaking it, causing a sound to generate through the entire room. Hearing the sound was enough for the dragon to release a pitiful roar, backing away from the source of the object.

 

Severus had placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder, he could sense, for all the boy’s enthusiasm at riding the cart, this dragon probably was not high on Harry’s priorities of excitement list. He guided him in the way that Griphook was walking, heading over to vault number six.

 

“The Potter family vault,” Griphook divulged.

 

The Goblin calmly left Harry in Severus’ care, choosing instead to focus on giving Draco and his parents assistance to reach the vault of the Le-Fay. Taking a deep breath, Harry reached out, placing a hand on the imprint much like Lucius had done when opening the Malfoy vault. As soon as Harry’s hand made contact with the imprint it glowed and unlike Lucius’ vault where the door opened, the panel of wall beside the plinth merely melted away. As soon as the door was gone, Harry’s mouth dropped.

 

“T..that’s all for me?” He stammered.

 

“Yes, it’s all yours Harry. Did you really think that your family would leave you with nothing?”

 

In disbelief now, Harry slowly took a few steps forward, not wanting to accidentally lose his footing and break something. Severus went to follow but the light on the plinth changed into an angry crimson. Unfortunately, Severus was going to have to wait for Harry to be done and dive in to protect him only if the need arose.

 

The items in the vault amazed Harry, gold piled from the floor right to the roof in several sections, silver in a slightly larger quantity and of course more bronze coins than the eye could possibly follow. Sets of armour and various magical weapons were strewn in amongst the gold too. Finally Harry could’ve sworn that he’d seen a door at the back of the vault which read ‘Potter Heirlooms’. Deciding he could come back here another day, Harry filled the small sack in his hand with money then exited the vault to rejoin Severus.

 

“Everything alright Harry?”   
  
“Even though there’s a lot of gold in there, I’d appreciate if you didn’t tell anyone? I’d rather not have people lapping at my heels trying to be friends with me just because they want to get their hands on it.”

 

Severus placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder, looking the boy dead-in-the-eye, “Don’t worry. Harry. I won’t reveal anything of this to anyone. It isn’t my information to disclose.”

 

Harry quickly gave Severus a hug, before drawing back just as quickly, “Thank you, Mr. Severus.”

 

“Quite alright, Harry. Ah, look. Draco has finished in the Le-Fay vault as well, I think it’s time we returned to the surface and do the shopping in the alley that we came here for initially.”

 

“You’re right, can…can The Malfoys come with us please?”

 

Severus chuckled, “That’s entirely their decision.”

 

Already having heard Harry’s question, Draco spun round to his parents, “Can we? Can We?”

 

Lucius and Narcissa both released small chuckles, but it was the former who answered, “Of course, what kind of friends would we be if we left Harry at the mercy of the Potions Master.”

 

Severus shook his head, “Quite but what would it be to leave young Harry with one such as yourself?”

 

“Ouch,” Lucius returned, his pale features dancing with the smirk formed by his lips, “Point taken.”

 

The group returned to the cart without any trouble from the Dragon since they hadn’t taken anything from the vaults that hadn’t been theirs, it was if the dragon had been trained to detect such a thing. Harry wouldn’t have been surprised if that was the case. The ride back to the surface was just as fast as the descent had been, this time there wasn’t need to stop though, which is potentially why this’d happened. Once they’d returned to the surface, the group thanked Griphook one final time and headed out of the bank the way they came.

 

Harry and Draco immediately darted out into the alley, rushing around the first couple of shops right by the bank, the one they’d eventually ended up in was Eeylop’s Owl Emporium. Both boys seemed incredibly fascinated by the sight before them. Harry because he’d never seen a domesticated owl before and Draco because it meant that he could finally get his own one.

 

Harry’s attention had been captured by one owl, a medium to large sized snowy with bright amber eyes, the bird’s gaze was locked with his own. Harry had to resist the urge to just grab here there and then. Draco, on the other hand, was locked in a similar gaze with a large eagle-owl with blue eyes so bright it looked as though the whole sky was reflected in its soul-piercing gaze.

 

“Looks like we’ve already lost them,” Lucius snickered quietly into Severus’ ear.

 

“It would seem so.”

 

“Would you two like to get those?” Narcissa asked Draco and Harry, sensing that it was time to speed things up a bit here so that they could get on with the rest of the shopping for their school supplies. It would be difficult to cart around two owls, so they’d just reserve them until the shopping had been finished of course.

 

Both nodded enthusiastically and Narcissa released a small chuckle, “Alright then. Go on with Severus and Draco’s father. I’ll get the store to hold them until we’re done shopping and then we’ll collect them later.”

 

x-x-x-x-x

 

“That should be everything on the list now, minus the wands,” Severus told Lucius, “We’ll head over to Ollivander’s and that’ll be everything before we go and collect the owls for them as well.”

 

“That’s a relief, I know it’s exciting for the boys, but it can get quite tedious, at least it’s only once a year.”

 

Together, the small group of four sauntered deeper through the cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley, Harry and Draco were still abound with excitement through their journey, even if Lucius was a little done with the tediousness that was shopping for the school term ahead.

“Alright, we’re onward to our last stop, Ollivander’s Wand Shop,” Severus told Harry, “It is the most important stop of all considering how vital a wand is to everything that a witch or wizard will do in their lifetime.”

 

Ollivander’s was a smallish building on the lower end of Diagon Alley, the exterior was painted in a deep black shade, that easily drifted into the clear, circular window that allowed viewers a look into the interior of the shop. The only quality of the exterior which would lead one to know that they had arrived at the correct destination was a huge sign hung above the store. It read: Ollivander’s Fine Wand-Makers since 382 BC.

 

“You take Harry and Draco to get the wands while I go and collect their owls, alright?” Narcissa told her husband and Severus.

 

“Sounds like a good idea.”

 

“Come children,” Lucius stated, steering Harry and Draco towards the front door.

 

The very moment said door opened, “Ah, I wondered when you would be coming to my store, Mr. Potter and if it isn’t young Mr. Malfoy as well… Don’t worry, we’ll get them sorted out very shortly.”

The man, who Harry could only assume was Mr. Ollivander, turned to Lucius and smiled, “Ah, Lucius Malfoy, Elm with a core of Dragon heartstring, eleven inches?”

 

“That’s mine,” Lucius said nodding, “Still does me well to this very day.”

 

“And Severus Snape… Mahogany with a unicorn hair core, twelve inches?”

 

“The very same.”

 

Ollivander nodded, “Excellent, Excellent. Alright, moving onto the main attractions today, Mr. Malfoy let’s get yours done first and then we’ll move on to Mr. Potter.”

 

Harry felt somewhat unnerved by the wandmaker, so he reserved himself to only speak when spoken to, at least, he felt that would be the best course of action to getting through this situation.

The green-eyed boy watched as the wandmaker measured the length of his new friend’s arms and then moved onto get a few wands for Draco to trial. It didn’t take long before Draco’s wand had selected him. A rush of golden sparks coming from the tip of the wand confirming that the wizard and wand had bonded in that instant.

 

“A Notable choice, Hawthorn, Unicorn Tail Hair Core, Ten Inches, rather proficient with Transfiguration.”

 

“Thanks, sir,” Draco said, beaming. He then dropped back to stand beside his father for Harry to undergo the same process.

 

Harry had proved to be a little more difficult than Draco. The wands didn’t seem to bond with him…and Harry spent more time blowing up objects in Ollivander’s store until finally, the wizard handed Harry a wand, then stepped back…right at that moment…golden sparks rushed out the end of it.

“ _Curious…Very Curious…”_

_“I’m sorry sir, What’s curious?”_

_“It is curious that you should be destined for this wand, Mr. Potter…when its brother…gave you that scar.”_

END CHAPTER

 


End file.
